Air diffuser assembly with integral air return

ABSTRACT

A suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution system air diffuser assembly of spaced inverted T-bar support members has a blank-off channel mounted therein for blanking off a portion of the assembly from a continuous outlet of an air plenum chamber, and a series of openings through the members at the portion of the assembly for venting air from a room into an attic space above the ceiling and outside the plenum chamber. The openings are initially closed by removable knock-out plates and the openings may be selectively closed after once being opened by plates removably mounted to the members to selectively change the flow of air in the room.

United States Patent 3,390,624 7/1968 Averill 98/40 D 3,069,991 12/1962 Ericson 98/40 Primary ExaminerMeyer Perlin [72] Inventor Robert R. Lambert Glendora, Calif. Appl. No. 855,108

gigg 3 Assistant Exa minerRonald C. Capossela [73] Assignee Air l-act ors, Inc. At omeyMiketta, Glenny, Poms and Smith Corina, Calif.

[54] Am DIFFUSER ASSEMBLY wlTH lN'l-EGRAL AIR ABSTRACT: A suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution RETURN system air diffuser assembly of spaced inverted T-bar support 13 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs members has a blank-off channel mounted therein for blanking off a portion of the assembly from a continuous outlet of an air plenum chamber, and a series of openings through the members at the portion of the assembly for venting air from a room into an attic space above the ceiling and outside the plenum chamber. The openings are initially closed by removable knock-out plates and the openings may be selectively D 0L OMAD M D 8.... 4 40 HMC D m m wm Smk UIF H M DUN [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l/l967 Stanley........r............

closed after once being opened by plates removably mounted AIR DIFFUSER ASSEMBLY WITH INTEGRAL AIR RETURN BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to air diffuser assemblies with air returns, and more particularly to an air plenum chamber mounting air diffuser assembly with blank-off means, blanking off a portion of the assembly from the outlet of the air plenum chamber, and venting means in the blanked-off portion of the assembly for venting air from a room into the attic space above the ceiling and outside the plenum chamber.

I A suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution system requires a plenum chamber or chambers to collect air from a source of supply, an air diffuser assembly to distribute the air to an associated room, and a means of returning the air from the room to the source of supply. One means of returning the air commonly used utilizes the attic space above the suspended ceiling and outside of the air plenum chambers as a passage to return the air to the supply. If the attic is to be so utilized, then return openings must be provided for the air to pass from the room through the suspended ceiling into the attic. These return openings, in order to assure the most complete circulation of the air throughout the room, should be located as close to the openings in the air diffuser through which the air from the plenum chamber flows, as is possible, but not so close as to permit the air to flow from the plenum chamber directly into the return openings and into the attic without first having circulated throughout the room.

I have devised an improvement to the air diffuser assembly on which the air plenum chamber sits and through which the air therefrom must pass into the room, which includes blankoff means dividing the air diffuser assembly into portions blanked-off from the outlet of ,the plenum chamber, and means at the blank-off portions for venting air from the room through the air diffuser assembly into the attic to be returned to the source of supply.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide an air diffuser assembly with an air plenum chamber mounted thereon, including blank-off means dividing the air diffuser assembly into portions blanked-off from the outlet of said air plenum chamber, and vent means at the blanked-off portions for venting air from the room through the diffuser assembly into the attic.

It is another object of this invention to provide an air diffuser assembly with the vent means being a plurality of spaced openings through the assembly.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide such an assembly wherein a series of knock-out plates are provided in the assembly which may be selectively removed to provide openings therethrough into the attic.

It is a further object of this invention to provide such an assembly with openings which may be selectively closed by plates mounted on the assembly.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide such an air diffuser assembly with blank-off means including a horizontal plate mounted to the assembly between the outlet of the air plenum chamber and the vent means.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally stated, the present invention contemplates an improvement in an air diffuser assembly for use with a suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution system with an air plenum chamber supplying air from a continuous outlet therealong through the assembly into the room below, including the provision of blank-off means for selectively blanking off a portion of the assembly to prevent the passage of air from the outlet through the assembly at the portion and vent means associated with the portion and positioned on the room side of the blank-off means to vent the air from the room through the assembly into the attic space above the ceiling outside the plenum chamber. In the preferred embodiment, the blank-off means is a U-shaped channel having a horizontal web and a resilient pad at each end thereof, and the vent means is a series of knock-out plates which are selectively removed to provide openings through the assembly. The opened openings in the assembly can be selectively closed by a plate mounted on the assembly.

These and other various advantages and distinct characteristics of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the improved air diffuser assembly with an integral airreturn according to the present invention. In such a description, reference will be had to the appended drawings wherein:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an exemplary continuous air diffuser assembly mountingan air plenum chamber, partially cut away to show the details of the improvement according to this invention of providing blank-off means and vent means;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a portion of FIG. 1 with a partial cross section showing the details of the construction of the air diffuser assembly with the improvements of the blankoff means and the vent means of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional end elevation view of the assembly and structure of FIG. 1 taken along the plane III-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional end elevation view of the assembly and structure of FIG. 1 taken along the plane IVIV;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation cross-sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2 taken along the plane V-V;

FIG. 6 is a partial end elevation cross-sectional view of FIG. 1 taken along the lines VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an exemplary effectively continuous air diffuser assembly with blank-off means and vent means of this invention; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional end elevation view of the air diffuser assembly of FIG. 7 taken along the plane VIII-VIII.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to the drawings, a suspended ceiling integrated air distribution system, indicated generally at 10, is of the type disclosed in my copending US. patent application Ser. No. 815,835. The air distribution system 10 is for a I suspended ceiling 11 consisting of ceiling tile or acoustical board 12. The air distribution system 10 includes an air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 mounted upon an air diffuser assembly, indicated generally at 14 including the improvement of blank-off means indicated generally at 55 or and vent means indicated generally at 60 or according to this invention.

The air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 may include an open-ended duct 15 made of resilient insulation board folded into a boxlike cross-sectional shape, and open at the bottom to form a continuous air outlet 16. Each of the lower edges of the duct 15 is inserted into a duct board keeper channel l7, 17', with a downwardly extending longitudinal flange l8, l8, and a series of spaced openings 19, 19' in the channel 17, 17' respectively, above the flanges l8, 18'. Spring clips 20, 20' with a pair of opposed shoulder clip feet-21, 21' are inserted through the openings l9, 19 respectively. The air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 when mounted on the air diffuser assembly 14 forms therein an air plenum chamber 22 which is connected to a supply of air (not shown) and which carries air from the supply throughout the entire length of the air diffuser assembly 14.

The air diffuser assembly 14 may be either of the continuous air bar variety indicated generally by 25 in FIGS. 1 6 or of the effectively continuous air bar variety indicated generally by 125 in FIGS. 7 and 8 and including a plurality of air bar assembly segments. Both varieties are quite similar and the improvement according to this invention may be used with either variety.

The air diffuser assembly 14 of the continuous air bar variety as shown in FIGS. 1-6 may include an air bar 25 with a pair of inverted T-bar support members 26, 26, each including a horizontal flange 27, 27 on which the tile or board 12 sits, with a vertical web 28, 28' extending upwardly therefrom. On each side of the vertical web and spaced a slight distance from the web 28, 28' is a ridge which forms grooves 29, 29 for a purpose which will appear later. On the upper end of the vertical web 28, 28' is a head 30, 30'. The head 30, 30 contains an upwardly opening longitudinal slot 31, 31' with opposed sets of teeth 32, 32 therein, and lower shoulders 33, 33' with grooves 34, 34 therein adjacent the web 28, 28.

The inverted Tl-bar members 26, 26 are laterally spaced apart by a pair of upper and lower U-shaped channel spacers 35, 36 with the flanges thereof being inserted into the grooves 34, 34' and 29, 29', respectively. The separations of the web of the upper and lower U-shaped spaces 35, 36 is maintained by a resilient pad 37 therebetween, best seen in FIG. 3.

Referring particularly to FIGS. 1, and 6, the upper U- shaped spacer 36 has a vertical hanger plate 38 welded at 39 to the web thereof. The vertical plate 38 has an aperture 40 therein through which a soffit or ceiling attached hanger wire 41 is hooked after passing through a hole 42 in the duct and through the air outlet 16 of the duct assembly 13 to support the air diffuser assembly 14 and the air plenum chamber 13 and the suspended ceiling 11.

A weir set 43 made up of an upper and lower U-shaped channels 44 and 45 nested together is inserted between the webs of the upper and lower U-shaped spacers 36 and 35. The weir set 43 is laterally spreadable or contractable to control the direction, velocity and volume of air discharge through the air diffuser assembly 14 as described in US. Pat. ,No. 3,41 1,425.

As best seen in FIG. 4, an extractor means 50, made from a U-shaped channel member is mounted on the web of the upper U-shaped channel spacer 36 between the flanges thereof and includes a series of upwardly extending spaced air vanes 51 with openings 52 in the extractor means 50 channel web below the vanes 51. Each end of the extractor means 50 has a resilient pad 53 between the web thereof and the web of the upper U-shaped channel 44 to close the opening therebetween. The vanes 51 of the extractor means 50 will extend into the plenum chamber duct assembly 13 through the air outlet 16 thereof, when mounted, to guide the air therein down through the openings 52 and through the space between the support members 26, 26, past the weir set 43, to flow into the room as is shown by arrows in FIG. 4.

The air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 mounts on the air diffuser assembly 14, with the flange 18, 18 of the ductboard keeper channel 17, 17 in the longitudinal slot 31, 31 and the feet 21, 21' of the spring clips 20, around the shoulders 33, 33 of the head 30, 30 of the inverted T-bar support members. The teeth 32, 32' in the slot 31, 31' and the engagement of the feet 21, 21' with the shoulders 33, 33 maintains the plenum chamber duct assembly 13 in position.

The air diffuser assembly 14 of the effective continuous air bar variety is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. Many of the parts of this variety are the same as the other air bar variety and those parts will have the same numbers. The parts of this variety which are quite similar in the two embodiments will have numbers separated by 100.

Referring now to FIGS. 7 and 8 specifically, the air distribution system 14 of the effective continuous air bar variety includes a framework 123 of crossing inverted T-bars with apertures 140 therein through which ceiling or soffit attached hanger wires 14] are inserted to support the frame 123. The air difi'user assembly 14 includes a multiplicity of air bar segments 125 divided into short lengths and located between the framework 123. The air bar segments 125 include inverted T- bar support members 126, 126 having a horizontal flange 127, 127' and a vertical web 128, 128' with grooves 129, 129 adjacent the vertical web 128, 128'. A head 130, 130' is mounted on the upper end of the vertical web 128, 128 and contains longitudinal slot 131, 131' with teeth 132, 132' therein, and lower shoulders 133, on each side thereof with grooves 134, 134' adjacent each side of the web 128, 128'. A pair of upper and lower U-shaped spacers 135 and 136 separated by a resilient pad 137 space the inverted T-bar members 126, 126' with the flanges thereof in grooves 134, 134' and 129, 129'. A weir set 143 of upper and lower U- shaped channels 144 and 145 nested together with a resilient pad 146 therebetween -is mounted between the upper and lower channels 136 and 135. At each end of the inverted T- bar support members 126, 126 is a flange plate 147, 147' within grooves 129, 129 and 134, 134 with the flange thereof clipped to the frame work 123 by clip 148 to secure the air bar segments 125 to the framework 123. The air bar segments 125 as shown in FIG. 7 are mounted to the framework 123 in line to form a continues air bar for receiving the air plenum chamber duct assembly 13. The air diffuser assembly 14 of air bar segments 125 mounts thereto an air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 in the same manner as the diffuser assembly 14 of air bars 25.

An extractor means 150 made from a plate including vanes 151 and openings 152 is inserted between the heads 130, 130' on resilient pads 153 in inward opening grooves 154, 154 in heads 130, 130 to direct the flow of air from the plenum chamber duct assembly 13 through the space between the inverted support members 126, 126' past the weir set 143 into the room as is shown in FIG. 8 arrows.

The improvement to the air diffuser assembly 14 includes the provision of blank-off means indicated generally at 55 or 155, and vent means indicated generally at 60 or 160.

In FIGS. 1 through 6, the blank-off means 55 includes a channel member 56 with a horizontal web 57 and flange 58 sitting on the web of the upper U-shaped spacer 36, between the flanges thereof. The flanges 58 space the web 57 from the web of the upper U-shaped spacer 36. At either end of the channel member 56 is a resilient pad 59 which closes the end opening between the two webs. The channel member 56 blanks off the continuous air outlet 16 of the air plenum chamber duct assembly 13 from access to the room through a portion of the space between the inverted T-bar support members 26 directly below the blank-off means 55 and between the ends thereof adjacent vertical hanger plates 38.

The vent means 60 includes a series of spaced knock-out plates 61, 61' in the vertical web 28, 28 of the inverted T-bar support member 26, 26'. The removal of these plates 61, 61 forms a series of spaced openings 62, 62' through the vertical web 28, 28 to the space above the suspended ceiling 11 and outside the air plenum chamber duct assembly 13, commonly called the attic. The knock-out plates 61, 61' are only removed in the portions of the air diffuser assembly 14 which have been blanked off by channel member 56. The air from the room flows into the space between the inverted T-bar support members 26, 26' at the blanked-off portions thereof and through the openings 62, 62' into the attic to be returned to the supply.

After the knockout plates 61, 61' have once been removed, it may be necessary to close the opening 62, 62' and plates 63, 63' are inserted into grooves 34, 34' and 29, 29' to block the opening 62, 62' and block the flow of air therethrough into the attic. By the use of plate 63, 63, the pattern of airflow in a room may be changed by selectively interchanging the extractor means 50 and the blank-off means 55 with the plate 63, 63 closing the openings 62, 62' that had been previously opened, and other knockout plates 61, 6] being selectively removed. The interchanging of the extractor means 50 and the blank-off means changes the flow of air from the plenum chamber 22 through selected some portions of the space between the inverted T-bar members 26, 26 to selected other portions to flow into the room to circulate therethrough and changes the venting of the air in the room through selected other portions of the space between the inverted T-bar support members 25, 26 to selected some portions through other sets of openings 62,62 into the attic.

In FIGS. 7 and 8, an alternative construction of the blankoff means 155 is shown. The blank-off means 155 is a plate 156 mounted in the grooves 154, 154' in the head 130, 130' with a resilient pad 159 at either end thereof, adjacent the framework 123 to seal the opening between either end of plate 156 and the web of the upper channel 136.

The vent means 160 includes a series of spaced knock-out plates 161, 161' whose removal forms a series of spaced openings 162, 162' through the vertical web 128, 128' into the attic space. The openings 162, 162' can be blocked off by plate 163, 163' mounted in grooves 129, 129' and 134, 134'. The operation of the blank-off means 155 and the vent means 160 is identical to the operation of the blank-off means 55 and the vent means 60 as was previously explained.

Thus, the suspended ceiling air distribution system with the improvement in the air diffuser assembly of this invention is divided into portions with air from an air plenum chamber flowing through some portions of the air diffuser assembly into the room to circulate therethrough, and air flowing from the room into other portions of the air diffuser assembly, blocked off from the air plenum chamber by blank-off means, to flow through venting means into the attic to be returned to the supply.

While the improvement according to this invention has been shown and described with respect to various air bar structures, it should be understood that other modifications, alternations, and adaptations thereof may be made within the scope of the present invention which is defined and limited only by the following claims.

1. In an air diffuser assembly means for use in a suspendedceiling integrated air distribution system wherein an air supply duct continuously overlies and is mounted on the diffuser assembly to supply air from a continuous outlet therealong to said diffuser assembly continuously therealong, the improvement comprising the provision of:

blank-ofimeans for selectively blanking off a portion of said diffuser assembly below said air supply duct outlet to prevent the passage of air from said outlet through said assembly at said portion; and

vent means associated with said diffuser assembly and positioned on the room side of said blank-off means at said portion for selectively venting air from said room through said assembly into an attic space above said ceiling and outside of said duct.

2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said diffuser assembly includes a pair of spaced inverted T-bar members defining an air passage therebetween and supporting adjacent ceiling tiles in said ceiling, each said T-bar member including a vertical web extending above the associated ceiling tiles and wherein said vent means comprise a plurality of spaced openings through at least one web of said T-bar webs in a portion thereof above the associated ceiling tiles.

3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said openings are continuously spaced along the web of each T-bar member of the assembly and means are provided for selectively blocking off certain of said openings where airflow from said plenum chamber outlet through the assembly is desired.

4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the assembly is initially provided with a series of spaced knock out plates which may be selectively removed to provide said vent means.

5. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said means provided for blocking said openings comprise a plate mounted to said assembly.

6. The improvement of claim 4 wherein means are provided for selectively closing said vent means provided by removing said knock out plates,

7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein said means provided for selectively closing said vent means includes a plate slidably mounted to said assembly.

8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the blank-off means comprises:

a U-shaped channel member having a horizontal web; and

a resilient pad at each end of the channel member located between the web thereof and the diffuser assembly to close the space therebetween.

9. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the blank-off means comprises:

a horizontal plate mounted to the diffuser assembly; and

resilient pads inserted between each end of the plate and the diffuser assembly to close the space therebetween.

10. An air diffuser for use in a suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution system including an elongated continuous air plenum chamber mounted on and supplying air through a continuous air outlet, opening into said assembly, and including an attic area above the suspended ceiling through which air return is accomplished, said air diffuser comprising:

a pair of spaced ceiling tile support members supporting said air plenum chamber with the continuous air outlet between said member, supplying air to the room through the space between the support members, each of said members having a series of knock-out plates, said plates when removed, leaving return openings through the members into the attic;

at least one vertical divider plate between the members, said divider plate dividing the space between the members into at least two sections;

at least one extractor means mounted in one section and having vanes protruding into the plenum chamber to direct the air through the air outlet and between the members at the one section into the room;

at least one blank-off means mounted in the other section and positioned between the return openings and the continuous air outlet, said knockout plates being removed to open the return openings, said blank-off means blanking off the direct flow of supply air from the continuous air outlet through the support members at the other section and through the return openings to the attic.

11. An air diffuser assembly as in claim 10 wherein the extractor means and the blank-off means are selectively interchangeable to change the direction of airflo'w and a blocking plate is mounted to the support members over the once opened openings in the other sections to selectively close the openings, the knock-out plates in the one section being removed to selectively open the openings therein whereby the flow of air is reversed.

12. An air diffuser assembly as recited in claim 10 wherein the support members are made up of segments with one segment thereof being as long as one section and a framework is provided for connecting the segments together.

13. In a suspended-ceiling integrated air diffuser assembly including a continuous, or effectively continuous, air bar having spaced inverted T-bar ceiling tile supporting members, each including a vertical web extending above the ceiling tiles defining therebetween an air passage through the ceiling and an air supply duct associated continuously along said air bar in air supply relation to said air passage, the improvement comprising the provision of;

vent means through portions of at least one web of said T- bar member above the level of the associated ceiling tiles for venting air from the room area below said ceiling tiles through said web to the attic space above said ceiling tiles outside of said duct, and blank-off means positioned between said vent means and air supply duct for blanking-off the air supply from said duct to said air passage in portions thereof where said vent means are provided. 

1. In an air diffuser assembly means for use in a suspendedceiling integrated air distribution system wherein an air supply duct continuously overlies and is mounted on the diffuser assembly to supply air from a continuous outlet therealong to said diffuser assembly continuously therealong, the improvement comprising the provision of: blank-off means for selectively blanking off a portion of said diffuser assembly below said air supply duct outlet to prevent the passage of air from said outlet through said assembly at said portion; and vent meAns associated with said diffuser assembly and positioned on the room side of said blank-off means at said portion for selectively venting air from said room through said assembly into an attic space above said ceiling and outside of said duct.
 2. The improvement of claim 1 wherein said diffuser assembly includes a pair of spaced inverted T-bar members defining an air passage therebetween and supporting adjacent ceiling tiles in said ceiling, each said T-bar member including a vertical web extending above the associated ceiling tiles and wherein said vent means comprise a plurality of spaced openings through at least one web of said T-bar webs in a portion thereof above the associated ceiling tiles.
 3. The improvement of claim 2 wherein said openings are continuously spaced along the web of each T-bar member of the assembly and means are provided for selectively blocking off certain of said openings where airflow from said plenum chamber outlet through the assembly is desired.
 4. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the assembly is initially provided with a series of spaced knock out plates which may be selectively removed to provide said vent means.
 5. The improvement of claim 3 wherein said means provided for blocking said openings comprise a plate mounted to said assembly.
 6. The improvement of claim 4 wherein means are provided for selectively closing said vent means provided by removing said knock out plates,
 7. The improvement of claim 6 wherein said means provided for selectively closing said vent means includes a plate slidably mounted to said assembly.
 8. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the blank-off means comprises: a U-shaped channel member having a horizontal web; and a resilient pad at each end of the channel member located between the web thereof and the diffuser assembly to close the space therebetween.
 9. The improvement of claim 1 wherein the blank-off means comprises: a horizontal plate mounted to the diffuser assembly; and resilient pads inserted between each end of the plate and the diffuser assembly to close the space therebetween.
 10. An air diffuser for use in a suspended-ceiling integrated air distribution system including an elongated continuous air plenum chamber mounted on and supplying air through a continuous air outlet, opening into said assembly, and including an attic area above the suspended ceiling through which air return is accomplished, said air diffuser comprising: a pair of spaced ceiling tile support members supporting said air plenum chamber with the continuous air outlet between said member, supplying air to the room through the space between the support members, each of said members having a series of knock-out plates, said plates when removed, leaving return openings through the members into the attic; at least one vertical divider plate between the members, said divider plate dividing the space between the members into at least two sections; at least one extractor means mounted in one section and having vanes protruding into the plenum chamber to direct the air through the air outlet and between the members at the one section into the room; at least one blank-off means mounted in the other section and positioned between the return openings and the continuous air outlet, said knockout plates being removed to open the return openings, said blank-off means blanking off the direct flow of supply air from the continuous air outlet through the support members at the other section and through the return openings to the attic.
 11. An air diffuser assembly as in claim 10 wherein the extractor means and the blank-off means are selectively interchangeable to change the direction of airflow and a blocking plate is mounted to the support members over the once opened openings in the other sections to selectively close the openings, the knock-out plates in the one section being removed to selectively open the openings therein whereby the flow of air is reversed.
 12. An air diffuser assembly as recited in claim 10 wherein the support members are made up of segments with one segment thereof being as long as one section and a framework is provided for connecting the segments together.
 13. In a suspended-ceiling integrated air diffuser assembly including a continuous, or effectively continuous, air bar having spaced inverted T-bar ceiling tile supporting members, each including a vertical web extending above the ceiling tiles defining therebetween an air passage through the ceiling and an air supply duct associated continuously along said air bar in air supply relation to said air passage, the improvement comprising the provision of; vent means through portions of at least one web of said T-bar member above the level of the associated ceiling tiles for venting air from the room area below said ceiling tiles through said web to the attic space above said ceiling tiles outside of said duct, and blank-off means positioned between said vent means and air supply duct for blanking-off the air supply from said duct to said air passage in portions thereof where said vent means are provided. 